Battle of the Java Sea

The Battle of the Java Sea (27 February 1942) was a naval battle of World War II that saw a Japanese fleet inflict heavy losses on an ABDACOM fleet in the Java Sea, off the coast of the Dutch East Indies. The Allied fleet, commanded by Karel Doorman, attempted to intercept Takeo Takagi's Japanese invasion fleet as it headed to strike at Java, but the Allied fleet suffered from poor coordination and demoralization. The Japanese task force protecting the convoy, consisting of the heavy cruisers Nachi and Haguro, the light cruisers Naka and Jintsu, and the destroyers Yudachi, Samidare, Murasame, Harusame, Minegumo, Asagumo, Yukikaze, Tokitsukaze, Amatsukaze, Hatsukaze, Yamakaze, Kawakaze, Sazaname, and Ushio, faced the Allied fleet, which consisted of the heavy cruisers HMS Exeter (68), USS Houston (CA-30), the light cruisers HNLMS De Ruyter, HNLMS Java, and HMAS Perth (D29), and the destroyers HMS Electra (H27), HMS Encounter (H10), HMS Jupiter (F85), HNLMS Kortenaer, HNLMS Witte de With, USS Alden (DD-211), USS John D. Edwards (DD-216), USS John D. Ford (DD-228), and USS Paul Jones (DD-230). The Japanese planes could not reach the fleet in bad weather, giving the Allies the advantage, but the Allied fleet suffered heavy losses while repeatedly attempting to reach and attack the invasion convoy, instead meeting formidable Imperial Japanese Navy warships. The Allies lost Kortenaer, Jupiter, De Ruyter, Java, and Electra, and Admiral Doorman went down with the De Ruyter. 2,300 Allied sailors were killed in the battle, a crippling blow to the ABDACOM forces, which soon disintegrated. The battle was a decisive Japanese victory, sealing the fate of the Dutch East Indies, although it gave the defenders of Java rest for one day.